Game Maker: Starting by Healing the Players

Why so strong?

Zack looked at the samurai general in front of him and felt overwhelmed.

This is a bit unreasonable!

Different from the monsters in Dark Souls and Bloodborne.

In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the bosses and regular enemies basically know how to parry.

And they parry very frequently.

Even though the sound of clashing blades is very pleasant, like blacksmithing, the problem is that sometimes while the boss is parrying, they'll suddenly attack.

And unlike regular enemies where getting hit can cause you to lose balance and trigger a deathblow.

Some larger or lightly armored enemies, as well as boss enemies, have a super armor buff, so they won't interrupt their attacks when you hit them.

At that point, it's already too late to parry or dodge.

Of course, that's not the most crucial point.

The most crucial point is that after Zack thought carefully, he realized.

While Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's seemingly two lives and lack of a stamina bar are very appealing.

The lack of a stamina bar essentially forces players to overcommit to attacks!

What's the biggest taboo in souls-like games?

Isn't it overcommitting to attacks?

Back in Bloodborne, why did many players find it harder to pick up than Dark Souls?

Wasn't it because of the blood-vial healing and lack of shields?

This made many players feel compelled to overcommit to attacks.

But now, in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, it's even more so!

With no stamina bar, it's practically telling you, "Why aren't you overcommitting to attacks?"

No stamina bar, so just run and slash freely!

However, when you actually overcommit, you'll face a ruthless lesson in literacy.

Teaching players worldwide what 'death' truly means.

As for the two lives, it's a joke.

One healing gourd, one life, totaling two health bars. When you think about it, the margin for error is even more excessive than in Dark Souls or Bloodborne!

You say don't overcommit, don't go in head-on?

Zack thought the same way, slash the boss once and then run away.

But the problem is, he found the boss to be incredibly tanky.

And unlike the bosses in Bloodborne and Dark Souls where you could just hack away.

The humanoid enemies in Sekiro also parry.

This means that out of three slashes, two are often met by the enemy's blade.

All you hear is the clang of metal, and the enemy's health bar doesn't budge.

The fastest way is to fill their posture bar; repeatedly doing so can grind down bosses, but it requires a high margin for error and takes a lot of time.

"And it seems I can't upgrade. Do only bosses drop these things for increasing vitality and gourd seeds?"

After dying four times in a row and respawning in front of the Sculptor, Zack triggered a mechanic called Dragonrot.

When he dies, people around him will cough, and it also reduces unspent money, which is used to potentially prevent losing money upon death.

He received some story clues about Dragonrot and the Undying power from Emma.

In an ordinary game, Zack's focus would naturally be on the story and the world-building.

But now, Zack only felt like he was stuck in a vicious cycle.

When facing powerful bosses in Dark Souls and Bloodborne, he could keep grinding for echoes of blood and souls to level up and increase his health.

However, in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, to increase your maximum health, you need a special item called a Prayer Bead.

And Zack doesn't even know where to get these Prayer Beads.

But based on his current experience, it's highly probable that some Prayer Beads can only be obtained after defeating a boss.

Well, that's terrible then!

He can't defeat the boss to increase his maximum health, but he needs Prayer Beads to increase his maximum health, and he needs to defeat bosses to get Prayer Beads.

Even though he's just started and only facing the first or second boss in the game.

Zack already felt the deep malice of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

"It's not a big problem. If I can't increase my maximum health, I can't. I'm not the type of player who collapses easily." Zack took a deep breath, thinking of a way to break through.

It's just dying a few more times, what's the big deal?

As for Dragonrot?

What can he do about it? Can he choose not to die just because he wants to?

Back then, when playing Dark Souls and Bloodborne, didn't he lose more than ten lives against each boss?

And the most important point is that Zack believes there will still be some unconventional ways to win.

As everyone knows, soul-like games are very difficult.

They demand a high level of skill from players.

But there are still ways to "skip class" for certain bosses.

For example, in Bloodborne, you can use the music box on Father Gascoigne.

The Cleric Beast can be brute-forced with firebombs.

The Blood-Starved Beast can be dealt with using Beast Blood Pellets and fire paper, and some bosses also have summonable allies.

Currently, in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Zack hasn't found any summonable allies; in fact, aside from leaving afterimages, the game doesn't have online multiplayer.

But Zack has a feeling there will be some ways to skip class.

Respawning at the Dilapidated Temple, Zack didn't immediately engage the boss but observed from the rooftop.

Besides being a coward and not fighting this boss, are there any other options?

After careful observation, Zack soon noticed a point worth considering.

This boss in the game doesn't patrol around like other regular enemies.

Instead, it stands still, looking out into the distance.

He can also use his grappling hook to reach the nearby watchtower.

Plus, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has a stealth function.

And the previous tutorial has been teaching players about the features of shinobi execution. Could it be?

Thinking this, Zack's eyes lit up.

Using the rope and double jump, Zack crouched and quietly circled around behind the boss, and then he saw a prompt that surprised him.

A red execution point was flashing on the boss.

"Haha, it actually works!"

Zack decisively pressed the attack button, and then he saw the wolf in the game nimbly grab the general's neck, raising his Kusabimaru high.

*Poof!*

Blood splattered, and the wolf in the game directly assassinated the boss's first life.

Then, facing a boss with only one life left, Zack used a healing gourd, threw a dozen shuriken, and with two lives and the boss's posture bar almost depleted, Zack died and returned to the Dilapidated Temple.

But this time, he wasn't discouraged at all, because victory was within sight.

"Indeed! This is the correct way to play the game! It's a stealth game, and ninjas are supposed to be stealthy!"

"Boss Lucas's level design is as brilliant as ever; there are ways for the brute force player as well as the smart player!"

Zack's face was full of joy.

Skipping class? What is this, skipping class! This is intelligently utilizing game mechanics, and even if it's skipping class, he's still having an absolute blast.

Suddenly, he felt like the game had become fun again.

(End of this chapter)

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